[WATCH] COVID-19 briefing: Five deaths and 329 new cases

Malta has registered 329 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, the health ministry has announced.  

Active cases stand at 3,188.

Five persons died in the last 24-hours. Two men aged 73 and 38 and one woman aged 85 died at Mater Dei Hospital. While one man and one woman aged 62 and 47 respectively died at their private residences.

346 deaths have been registered since the start of the pandemic.  

259 recoveries were registered in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of recoveries to 22,435. Total cases stand at 25,9696.  

3,779 swab tests were carried out in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of swabs to 746,422. 

Till yesterday 113,258 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine were administered. 37,182 of those were second doses.  

The Public Health Superintendent said the timeline for the rollout has been moved forward by some weeks. She said around 15,000 people from the education sector have received the vaccine.  

Vaccine centres in Malta now number 40. A large new one has been opened in MCAST on Thursday.  

On the Intensive Care Units, Gauci said there are a “substantial” number of patients receiving care, with 34 in ITUs.  

245 people are being treated in hospital:  

29 in Mater Dei’s ITU  

10 in Mater Dei’s IDU  

100 in Mater Dei wards  

17 in Gozo (5 in intensive care) 

14 in Boffa Hospital  

23 in St Thomas Hospital  

Six in Karen Grech  

31 in the Good Samaritan facility  

15 in Mount Carmel  

Asked on the situation in open and closed centres, Gauci said that personnel working there are already vaccinated. She also said that residents at the centres will be vaccinated accordingly.  

READ ALSO: Your essential guide to the latest COVID-19 restrictions